Harper's Weekly
newspapers served as the primary information source for people during
the Civil War. We have posted our extensive collection of these old
papers to this WEB site to allow people to access this important
resource. We hope you enjoy browsing these original documents.

(Scroll Down to See Entire Page, or Newspaper Thumbnails below will take you to the page of interest)

Boy's Suit.

SPRING AND SUMMER FASHIONS FOR 1864.

THE above plate represents a few
of the various styles of garments manufactured by the extensive house
above-named, for their Spring jobbing business.

The wholesale clothing trade in
this country has become of such vast importance, as well in its magnitude as in
the reduction of prices which it has occasioned in what may be justly regarded
as one of the first necessities of man, that it deserves a place in our columns,
and our patrons will doubtless be pleased to see other representations from the
great warerooms of Messrs. KIRTLAND, BRONSON, & Co.

This branch of industry is of
domestic origin, and was almost unknown forty years ago; the nearest approach to
it in that day being the manufacture of clothing by a few individuals in this
city who had branches for the sale of

their goods at retail in some of
the Southern cities. The demand from Southern merchants, however, which arose
for clothing ready made for sale soon developed the wholesale clothing business,
and prior to 1837 there were half a dozen or more houses in this city engaged
exclusively in the trade, and some of them to a considerable extent. The
business was almost wholly confined to the South, and the class of goods made up
for the trade at that period was mainly of the lower and inferior grades. The
revulsion of 1837 prostrated this as well as other branches of business, and
extinguished the firms then engaged in it. With the subsequent revival of trade
new houses entered into the business, other cities became identified with it,
the Western country opened up new markets for its sale, and the business rapidly
increased, until, in 1860, it had attained

its zenith. Then came the war,
and with it the loss of the Southern indebtedness, in consequence of which it
again suffered a temporary reverse. But clothing is an indispensable commodity,
and hence we find the business quickly revived under the management of larger,
wealthier, and more experienced firms.

New York has always been the
chief depot of supply, and will always control the largest share of the
business. New York clothing is famed far and wide for its excellence—the
characteristics which distinguish it above the make of other cities being
novelty in the designs, durability and taste in the material and trimmings, and
superiority in the workmanship. In former times manufacturers hesitated at
making-up any thing above the medium grade of goods. But now, in addition to
manufacturing heavy

lines of the medium and lower
grades, a first-class house like the one above-named is obliged also to keep a
full assortment of fine goods, equal in every respect to the very best
custom-made work.

There are now engaged in the
wholesale clothing trade in this city alone over one hundred firms, with a
capital invested of at least ten millions of dollars. The number of operatives
in New York and vicinity who gain their living from the clothing trade is about
90,000, one half of whom may be employed on Government work and in the retail
trade, and the other half by the wholesale trade, which contributes toward their
support not far from ten millions of dollars a year wages. The amount of
internal revenue which the Government derives from it is probably more than a
million of dollars a year.

THE PARIS FASHIONS FOR FEBRUARY, 1864.

Site Copyright 2003-2014
Son of the South. For Questions or comments about this collection,
contact paul@sonofthesouth.net